The FINANCIAL — Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG) has concluded an agreement to acquire 100 percent of shares in the insurance company AXA Biztosító Zrt, according to the Vienna Insurance Group.
The takeover is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory and competition authorities. The purchase price was not disclosed.
“Hungary is one of those core markets where we have been looking to enhance our presence for some time now. So, it is all the more pleasing that we have completed this agreement before year-end. Vienna Insurance Group has been operating in Hungary for almost two decades and despite the challenging economic environment, our Hungarian Group companies are performing strongly. AXA Biztosító is the ideal complement to our life insurance portfolio, which also includes high-potential in unit-linked products,” said Peter Hagen, CEO of Vienna Insurance Group.
AXA Biztosító recorded premiums written of around EUR 31 million in the first three quarters of 2013, according to the Vienna Insurance Group. The life insurance segment accounted for the lion’s share of the total (about 92 percent), with a strong emphasis on unit-linked products. The company is ranked thirteenth on the Hungarian life insurance market. AXA Biztosító operates nationwide and currently has around 120 employees. It sells products through its own sales subsidiary, as well as intermediaries such as brokers and banks.
Vienna Insurance Group entered Hungary – one of its core markets – in 1996. Represented by composite insurance company Union Biztosító and life insurer Erste Biztosító, the Group had a market share of around six percent as of the third quarter of 2013 and was ranked eighth overall in the country’s insurance market. VIG is Hungary’s sixth-largest non-life insurer and the number three in the corporate segment. Erste Biztosító has benefited from its strong partnership with Erste Bank and sells its life products through the bank’s Hungarian branches. In the first nine months of this year the Vienna Insurance Group posted premiums written of around EUR 115 million in Hungary – a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent, according to the Vienna Insurance Group.
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